Mainz ‘career underdog’ keeper Daniel Batz (34) prepares for showdown with Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Newly appointed Mainz head coach Urs Fischer has already found a new protégée just one match into his new appointment. Veteran German keeper Daniel Batz surprisingly in nearly two years last Friday. Mainz interim head coach Benjamin Hoffmann turned to Batz in the matchday 13 curtain-raiser against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Fischer liked what he saw and also handed the 34-year-old a start in Mainz’s Thursday Conference League fixture against Lech Poznan. 

With No. 1 Robin Zentner out injured, 24-year-old Lasse Rieß has been filling in for the deposed talismanic keeper this season. Rieß wasn’t necessarily always at fault for the 12 goals conceded during his three Bundesliga starts, but the youngster’s confidence appeared shattered in the three losses. Enter Batz; a valued Mainz No. 3 who recently signed a contract extension last April.

Batz delivered a fine performance in the narrow loss against Gladbach and was even better in the Conference League on Thursday. Some crucial saves ensured that Mainz were able to salvage a point from their trip to Poland. The former 1. FC Saarbrücken mainstay now prepares for the greatest challenge of his career; a showdown with seemingly unbeaten German giants Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. 

Fischer’s words on Daniel Batz

“He made some miraculous saves in two or three situations,” Fischer said of Batz whilst speaking at a Friday press conference. “I was especially impressed by a reflex save from close range. He really did a great job.“

Is Daniel Batz a total stranger to the Bundesliga?

No. Batz filled in for Zentner during four consecutive league matches between November and December of 2023. The Erlangen native kept a clean sheet against Köln and only conceded one goal against Freiburg, Heidenheim, and Dortmund. Unfortunately, all of this took place during the torrid winless run of infamously bad Mainz head coach Jan Siewert. Much of Batz’s solid work was forgotten. 

What is Batz’s story?

The Erlangen-native spent time playing for the Nürnberg and Freiburg reserves and even made one Bundesliga start for Christian Streich’s Freiburg on the final matchday of the 2011/12 campaign. This proved a day to forget as Batz allowed in four goals in the first half against Borussia Dortmund. 

After working as a backup for Chemnitz in the 3. Liga for a season, Batz moved over to the Saarland to play for Elversberg and later 1. FC Saarbrücken in the German fourth division. Yes, Batz was the keeper during Saabrücken’s famous run to the DFB Pokal semi-finals during the 2019/20 campaign. 

Germans remember Batz as the hero who helped Saarbrücken advance past Düsseldorf during a quarterfinal penalty shootout in March 2020. The fact that Batz helped Saarbrücken become the first German fourth-tier-side to advance to the cup semis counted as huge news at the time.

Batz was a big deal and a big story. Unfortunately, he found himself overshadowed by a bigger global event. The COVID lockdown followed shortly thereafter. Saarbrücken fans were deprived of the chance to watch their club host Bayer Leverkusen in a June 2020 “Geisterspiel”. 

Saarbrücken themselves were deprived of the historic opportunity to advance further as the German Regionalliga was suspended as part of the lockdown. Batz and his team stood no chance against a Leverkusen side that was in rhythm having resumed their regular games earlier in the month.

Batz’s Ssarbrücken were still awarded promotion that year and the keeper was able to serve as the club’s starter in the 3. Liga for three consecutive years before Mainz picked him up in the summer of 2023.

The next interesting chapter in Batz’s story now beckons. What will he produce in against one of the best attacking teams ever assembled at the Allianz Arena? A man who spent his entire career as a feisty underdog 

GGFN | Peter Weis